*sans the skeleton (
trombones) wrote in
rackofbadcds2016-02-04 10:21 pm
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IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL
Out of all the weird texts Sans ever got, "who wants a free trip to Disneyland" was the new number-one, knocking "BROTHER I NEED SHAVING CREAM IT'S AN EMERGENCY" off the charts.
The skeleton already knew something was up, especially when the word "free" came from Mettaton of all people. Hoo boy. Part of him was a little worried, but knowing MTT's track record with his brother, they probably weren't... hurt or dead or something. Just in some really, REALLY stupid shit.
Honestly, though. Who DOESN'T want a free trip to Disneyland? Because Sans barely knows what Disneyland is, and he already wants to go.
So here he was!! Normally, this would be the part where he takes advantage of room service for the next three hours but first, he had to make sure his brother wasn't actually on fire or whatever. He walks up to Mettaton and Papyrus' room and raps on the door.
"Knock knock."
PULL UP PULL UP PULL UP IN THE MONSTER, AUTOMOBILE GANGSTER.
The skeleton already knew something was up, especially when the word "free" came from Mettaton of all people. Hoo boy. Part of him was a little worried, but knowing MTT's track record with his brother, they probably weren't... hurt or dead or something. Just in some really, REALLY stupid shit.
Honestly, though. Who DOESN'T want a free trip to Disneyland? Because Sans barely knows what Disneyland is, and he already wants to go.
So here he was!! Normally, this would be the part where he takes advantage of room service for the next three hours but first, he had to make sure his brother wasn't actually on fire or whatever. He walks up to Mettaton and Papyrus' room and raps on the door.
"Knock knock."
PULL UP PULL UP PULL UP IN THE MONSTER, AUTOMOBILE GANGSTER.
YOU CAN BE THE KING BUT WATCH THE QUEEN lose a battle to water
What came as a surprise to him was the fact that Alphys, Alphys, in his time of need, chastised him for being careless and simply reminded him that she too was on vacation with her significant other. She told him to wait it out! Him! Mettaton! Monsterkind and Humanity's brightest star!! Her best friend!!
Sigh. He can't wait it out. He can't play Weekend At Bernie's with his own corpse for the rest the week.
The voice that responds from behind the door is uncharacteristically quiet, but certainly (a strangely non-tinny) Mettaton. "sans? the door's unlocked. you can come in." And it's true! The door isn't locked at all.
Huh. That's odd, though. Papyrus isn't in the room and Mettaton looks like he's shut off against the bed.
FIRST THING'S FIRST I take a nap
The voice on the other side sounds... strange. It's definitely Mettaton, but something's off. After a pause, Sans opens the door and steps inside.
Well. Papyrus wasn't on fire, but he wasn't here either. Double strange. The skeleton flattens an colorful, garish Hawaiian shirt he's wearing against his ribs and walks up to Mettaton's body.
"Hey. You awake?"
Sans can tell the bot is off, but he doesn't see anyone else, so... okay. Sure. He'll talk to a busted robot. He knocks on his front screen while he's at it.
CAUSE THAT'S WHAT A MFIN MONSTA with a busy schedule and limited vacation days DO
Ugh. This is embarrassing.
The voice continues, along with a soft, pink glow from inside the curtains. "...you didn't bring anyone with you, did you?" He knows he only gave Sans one ticket, but... he also knows the skeleton. Tricksy hobbit was capable of anything.
beautiful
"... Wheelies? That you?"
He won't lie. The temptation to look there, but as much as he's ragged on Mettaton before... Sans Learns a Privacy. That and, well. He can put two and two together.
"Nope, it's just me. Papyrus not here either?" He tilts his head, quiet for a moment, then he adds: "... so are you getting ghost-dressed, or can I pull this back?"
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It's too awful to think about.
"yes, it's me," he sighs. "your brother ran out to get the two of you something to eat. we weren't expecting you so soon." Which is ridiculous in hindsight. "and i'm not a ghost, sans." Well. "not anymore... as it stands, i'd still rather not anyone see me like this. it's bad for my image." From his wispy tone of voice, it wasn't doing any favors to his self-image, either.
"look. you know i invited you here for a reason that wasn't just family-fun time; i need your help."
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"Ah."
Good to know where Papyrus was. He holds his hands up.
"Right. Sorry. Not used to this kind of thing." Which is true. Sans knew the basics of how ghosts and corporeals worked, partly through Mad Dummy on his occasional trips to Undyne's house, but that was about it. For now, he makes it obvious that he's not going to peek by keeping his hands to himself.
He WAS quick on the draw, but he didn't plan on it and Mettaton wouldn't know that anyway -- unless he ever watched the brothers practice-fight before. Anyway. Mettaton knows he knows, so they can skip the details.
"Yeah... I had a feeling. So what's the problem?" He looks to Mettaton's body. "Body busted?"
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"in the name of my creative endeavors, alfy recently equipped my ex-form with synthetic tears. it..." He is not going to admit to Sans that a cutesy ride about ghosts made him cry and break himself. It's not happening. "it malfunctioned last night." Thank goodness he wasn't in it! Also something he does not plan on explaining. It was nice to show Papyrus because he trusts and loves him dearly, but to be trapped like this?? "i tried to contact alfy, but she's attending to other matters."
Ugh, how do you even begin with something like this? It's like instructing someone how to do your autopsy! The light dims and something small pushes up against the curtain like it's trying desperately to point at the broken rectangle. "i think the tears must have fried out my systems, but i'm not sure and i can't possibly look myself. the top lights on either side of my display are actually buttons; pressing the both of them at once should trigger the manual release so you can examine the damage."
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"Synthetic tears?" Sans looks back and raises... well, if he had eyebrows, he'd be raising them. The sentiment still stands. He knows he shouldn't be surprised, and yet here we are. Yep. This was definitely some Stupid Shit. He goes back to the robot again. "... Welp."
The skeleton didn't exactly have the tools to fix a robot, but he could at least look at the damage, sure. He grabs a rolling chair from the desk nearby and sits himself in front of Mettaton's body.
"I dunno what makes you think I know how to fix these kinda things, but... ehh. Why not? I'll give it a shot."
Which is... partly true. Alphys was the engineer. Most of what Sans learned from shadowing his father was a whole other story. Still, he knew enough. Besides, Papyrus already told people that Sans liked "science fiction" (Alphys probably helped), and it wasn't unheard of for him to play occasional handyman.
"So this pops open...?"
Nevermind. That's rhetorical. He pops the manual release pretty quickly on his own.
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Obviously, the core is somewhere else. He's hovering out from behind the curtain and sliding under the bed while Sans' back is turned, the pink light spilling from underneath giving his new location away.
"you don't need to play dumb with me, darling. i know you're smarter than you pretend," Mettaton says, appraising himself now that he has a closer look. It's creepy. He does not like this. "if you're going to be my only hope for salvaging this vacation, we need to get the act out of the way, alright?
"how is it?"
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"... Heh," is about all the response Mettaton will get to his suggestion about the 'act'. He doesn't quite acknowledge it, but he doesn't deny it either. "Hey. I said I'd try, didn't I? I never exactly doctored a robot before."
Vague the skeleton. Anyway. His bony fingers continue to poke through Mettaton's 'guts'.
"... well, verdict depends. Your board's fried. You're either gonna have to replace it or rewire your insides to different power source, if you want a quick fix." He says 'you', but it's probably going to be him. If there were other, non-fried systems in Mettaton's body that he didn't need for two days, Sans could probably rearrange some wires, but... "I'm guessin' you didn't bring any spare parts."
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Tired all the time, indeed, Papyrus.
But oh god, that's awful. He knew he saw sparks and smoke, but FRIED?! "of course i didn't! this is my vacation!!!" Exhausted, needy whine. "can't you... get something? if you can break into my penthouse, you can break into alphys' lab!"
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Sans takes his hands out and leans back in the rolling chair, hands going back into the pockets of a hideous pair of khaki shorts. He's dunkle-ing it harder than ever before.
"Plan B's still an option. It's a quick fix, but I can switch some wires around and sap power from whatever systems you don't need for a couple days."
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So rude!!
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Do you have solitaire in here."
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Sans lifts his legs off the floor to avoid said electric magic. You can tell Sans is trying his not-so-damnedest to laugh. He really is. Promise.
"Ok, ok, ok. Seriously, though. Plan B might be your only option if you want this fixed RIGHT now."
He leans back further, propping his legs up on the bed and watching the light show underneath.
"Hypothetically, imagine you HAD solitaire... for some reason. You're probably not gonna play it for the next couple days in a theme park. So... non-hypothetically, I'm guessing you got a couple somethings like that. Or a lot."
He wouldn't be surprised you have a battery problem if you do.
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A keen eye can, despite the singe, make out labels inside of the robot's shell. Cables are connected to things like "burners", "morning dj soundboard", "glitter hands", "pen finger", "japanese language mod", "family-friendly censor", "chainsaw", and "snail release".
It's possible Mettaton is exaggerating about needing all of those.
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That said, he does remember seeing tiny labels in the shell itself. He pauses for a moment, then lowers his chair and looks again. He keeps it quiet this time, on the off-chance that Mettaton isn't looking.
Holy cow, this is like the robot equivalent of too many apps on a phone. Or when you got too many apps running in the background.
"... Say. No reason, but... speaking of functions, have you met anybody who knows Japanese here? I didn't know what 'Japanese' was 'til not too long ago."
Bullshit. He's seen Alphys anime. But MTT doesn't know that... he thinks. Maybe. Probably.
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Ugh.
What's that? Japanese? "i'll have you know i actually used that function during my tour. oh, it was so marvelous in japan!! it was like that crowd had waited their whole lives to see me preform! i hadn't even said a word and they were already in love the second i stepped on stage!! and who wouldn't be, with a... body like. mine..."
...wait. "why do you ask?"
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Bam, Sans already did it. Of course he listened and waited for Mettaton just to be completely sure, but it wasn't that hard to reroute his energy sources to begin with. Bony fingers make wiring easy. The front screen of MTT's body lights up and quietly bwoops to life.
It's only a little bit of power and the screen itself is in come kind of... set-up mode? Yeah. Still, Plan B is definitely working.
"Bingo."
Don't worry, MTT. If you let him, you'll get your body back in no time. Here's hoping seeing himself start coming back to life again will bring him on Sans' side.
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Wait, he knows that sound-- IS HE BACK ONLINE??
A little hint of pink metal is peaking out from underneath the bed, clearly intrigued and overjoyed despite not having a face. "oh my god, sans! you're beautiful! what did you do??"
i never remember tense anyway
"Plan B, buddy. I turned off your Japanese. I probably bought you... what?" He glances back to the screen. "I'm guessin' a couple hours of juice so far?"
Sans could do more than guess if he let his body reboot or... well, whatever he does to turn on. Alphys and Mettaton would know better. First, though, he wants to convince the other to let him fangle around some more.
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Nnnngh, but the power's back and Mettaton really doesn't want to spend the rest of his vacation without his body. He misses having hands and legs. GOD, he misses his legs. He misses holding hands already. He can't even be seen like this...
There's grumbling under the bed. Grumbling and more sparks of tortured indecision.
"turn off the tears, at least." Legs win out.
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"You got it, boss."
More fangling. Poor Alphys was probably going to have to untangle this whole mess by the time they all came home. They'd be able to replace the fried bits by then, at least.
As the skeleton rearranges more wires, Mettaton's body seems to come back to life just a little bit more. It won't move on its own, obviously, but dials are lighting up and whatever internalized computers were inside had just enough power to start booting themselves back up.
While they were on a roll here...
"And y'know, pens are probably collectable here. Finger pens are pretty cool, but who's to say you can't get every kind of pen to hold in your actual hands?"
That's pins. Pins are collectable. Still. Pens are pretty cool, and Sans has a feeling he can convince Mettaton to get so many he won't worry about needing a glitter pen finger.
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Sigh. Life is hard for the star of the century.
"i can't believe alphys wouldn't come..."
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"Yeah? What's she doing?"
He's got a feeling he's going to hear a very one-sided account of it, but he'll just ask Alphys about it later.
"... So I'm guessing you finally told Papyrus too."
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The question about said moon of his life causes the core to tense up a moment. There really isn't much reason why. Reflex, maybe. Holding secrets for so long tend to make you jumpy at the thought of spilling them, even after you already have. "...yes. he knows."
Well.
"ha... he actually already knew." And not because of Sans! Thankfully. Sans was a decent fellow; Mettaton would hate to kill him.
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The skeleton's tone says plenty. He doesn't buy it. That's okay though, Mettaton can go as long as he wants to. He gets the jumpiness though. That definitely comes with secrets.
"Yeah. I know. It was fun watchin' him play detective for a while."
I FORGOT IT WAS MY TURN
Oh, Sans knew?
There's a soft thump of the heart rolling onto his side, like a teenage girl who just heard something scandalous at the slumber party. "and... you didn't happen to help him, did you?" Papyrus said he figured it out all on his own, but...
He knows Sans. Tricksy hobbit.
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"Nah. I just played sidekick," He said with a wink. "Detectives need an ear for their theories, y'know. And Gerson let me borrow an old trench coat and a hat so he could dress the part. You shoulda seen him, it was pretty cool."
There's some shuffling and sparking sounds coming out of Mettaton's body. That's normal.
"Anyway. He was already goin' the right direction on his own. I just gave him some vague ideas when he got stuck."
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"hmph. what sort of vague ideas?" He makes it sound like even that was a great betrayal of his trust.
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Because he totally is.
"You know. Vague," He said, shrugging. "I dunno, what? You want an essay and citations on the whole thing? I don't remember EVERYTHING I told 'im, ya know?"
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Best not to bring it up for now.
Besides-besides, he's still offended. This was important and Sans is brushing it off like it was just another innocent prank! There's another hint of pink from under the bed, like the core is trying desperately to glare another hole into the skeleton. "well, wonderful. i'll remember that the next time he's curious about you."
...okay, so maybe he would focus on that.
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"Hate to tell ya, but I don't got any deep dark secrets worth telling my brother," Sans says, going back to ignoring Mettaton and focusing on... well, Mettaton. He rolls his chair further back and tilts his head to get a better look inside the panel. Almost... "So go ahead, I guess."
mmmmmmmohmygodstopfuckinglying
"Besides, I already told you. Papyrus figured out most of it himself. He's the one who cracked it. I barely did anything... which, hey, suits me just fine. I'm just happy you guys finally cleared the air."
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He's back to rolling onto his "stomach". He wishes he had legs. Where are his legs. Being this limbless, helpless thing is the worst!! It's an absolute nightmare! He wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy!!
...well. Maybe he'd wish it on that over-glorified starlet he opened for in Japan. Pft. Miku.
Sigh.
"yes... he's. he was very understanding. always so thoughtful, your brother." Then, in an barely audible, dreamy tone, "i owe him so many kisses..."
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"I told you, right? He's awesome."
Also:
"Gross. You mind doing that after I leave?" As if Sans wasn't the biggest slob in the Underground. The skeleton's face scrunches up slightly, but otherwise doesn't look all that disgusted. He honestly wasn't very bothered anyway, but getting grossed out by your brother's love life and cooties is part of a sibling's job.
Anyway. A couple more minutes of tinkering later, Sans backs away from Mettaton's body. He's figuring out by now how to boot the rest of him back on. A few quick button presses does the trick.
"Bingo. So how do put yourself back in here?"
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"what? it's done?!" There's a streak of pink in the air as the metal heart dashes out from under the bed's cover to examine the body-- aaaaaaaaaand immediately realizes where he is and ducks behind said machine.
"...if you could turn around, please?"
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(which I had to word really carefully just now, wow), but here comes Mettaton. Literally.Which pretty much confirms what Sans thought MTT looked like, though he only gets a quick glimpse of it before he's hiding again. Sighing, he gives a casual shrug, his usual lazy grin, and spins around in his chair.
"I ain't looking. Give it a try."
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But there are more important things! Like... not being trapped in a Harlan Ellison novel! The second he hears the chair squeak, the core cautiously peaks above his own "shoulder" to see that the skeleton has, in fact, turned around. Satisfied, he makes his way to the front of his body, staring warily at the opening in the front panel.
If this did not work, there was a strong possibility that this could fry out his body with him inside of it. Just one, awful ZAP and that was it. Goodbye, Underground's star. Hello, dust.
Uuugh. Giving up his immortality... The things he did for fame.
There was a click as the core set itself back inside of its metal shell, then a hiss as the panels closed behind it. Electricity hummed as magic from the core transferred into robotic limbs and...
"DARLING, IF YOU DON'T TURN AROUND NOW, HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO GIVE YOU A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME MTT-BRAND EMBRACE?"
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Luckily, that mini-heart attack was over and done with. Sans folds his hands over his ribs and leans back while he waits for Mettton to adjust himself. Rearrange himself. Whatever he's doing in there. As obnoxious as the skeleton can be, he can at least respect a Privacy when it comes to stuff like this.
Whatever happened, it sounded like it worked. Literally. Click, hum, Mettaton. Acting like he's going to give you something you didn't even know you asked for. Yep. He's back. Sans grins and whirls back around.
"Aw. Don't sweat it, Wheelies."
Why does he have a feeling there's only a 50% chance this is a real offer.
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Anyway, that feeling is because Sans is either bad at math or Mettaton, because Mettaton's sweeping forward to try and pick up the skeleton in a spinning hug attack anyway. "OOOOH DARLING, YOU'RE MY (SECOND) HERO!!"
Limbs! Glorious limbs!
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And welp, Sans was half-right. The skeleton is used to Papyrus picking him up enough that he's not even surprised, but he's also used to having somebody equally skeleton-shaped to hold onto. Good thing Mettaton's got huge hands.
"Whoa--"
Okay, you know what? This is fine. Mettaton can hug attack him. Sans just chuckles. Once the spinning stops, he pats the top of the robot's head.
"Heheheheh. Hey. Glad to be of service, pal. It was easy stuff. Bone appetite."
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He sets Sans down as quickly as he picked him up, hands going to his "hips". "SANS! HOW CRASS!!" Then, in a tone that sounded both scandalized and suspiciously like a teenager sitting around with their besties and talking about their crush: "YOU SAID TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER YOU LEFT."
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Okay, he's being set down now.
"Huh?" Give him a second. "After what..."
OH. Ew.
"... Wow, dude. That was just a pun. Yeah, no, still wait."
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Oh.
He's found it. Scientists have searched tirelessly for years to find the subject that could fluster the unbreakable Sans. They'd concluded the only thing capable was the queen Toriel, but, as of this second, there's been a breakthrough discovery.
There is another.
Mettaton's still chuckling. It's that awful, terrible laugh he does when he's teasing Alphys about her crushes, intentionally setting up Papyrus for awful puns, or letting loose snails in Blooky's room. It's that shitty, knowing laugh he does when he's about to transform into the world's most annoying best friend/boyfriend/younger-family-member.
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SAID IT, SANS. NOT ME. AT LEAST I KNOW WE HAVE YOUR SUPPORT FOR WHEREVER OUR RELATIONSHIP DECIDES TO GO."
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"Uh, yeah. Sure. You guys do that. Just not in front of me."